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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Families relocating within South Carolina face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 3 cities. North Charleston — index 98, rent $1,670/mo, healthcare index 100 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Charleston | 98 | $1,670 | Details |
| 2 | Charleston | 124 | $2,127 | Details |
| 3 | Columbia | 85 | $1,459 | Details |
#1 Ranked: North Charleston — cost index 98, rent $1,670/mo, income $62,789
Family-weighted scoring: income $62,789, healthcare index 100, population 121,469 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Families relocating within South Carolina face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 3 cities. North Charleston — index 98, rent $1,670/mo, healthcare index 100 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model.
Here's North Charleston by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 98. Rent: $1,670/month. Income: $62,789/year. Home price: $307,981. Population: 121,469. The strongest category is Housing at 98; the most expensive is Healthcare at 100. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $2,700 per year vs. the national median. For anyone relocating from a high-cost market, this will feel like a raise.
If you only look at rent, it's perfect. Zoom out and it's complicated. In North Charleston, the healthcare index sits at 100 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
121,469 residents · South Carolina
Here's North Charleston by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 98. Rent: $1,670/month. Income: $62,789/year. Home price: $307,981. Population: 121,469. The strongest category is Housing at 98; the most expensive is Healthcare at 100. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $2,700 per year vs. the national median. This is the kind of number that should get your attention.
155,369 residents · South Carolina
The #2 spot goes to Charleston, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $2,127/month — costing renters $2,784 more per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Healthcare is the standout at index 105, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 124. A 28% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
129,330 residents · South Carolina
The #3 spot goes to Columbia, and the breakdown explains why. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. Renters here pay $1,459/month — we had to double-check this one — — saving renters $5,232 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 85, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 97. The 31% rent-to-income ratio is a pressure point — for median earners, housing takes more than recommended.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to families. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in South Carolina by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
North Charleston ranks #1 in South Carolina for this analysis with a cost index of 98 and median income of $62,789.
North Charleston scores highest for families due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,670/mo, and competitive median income of $62,789.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
North Charleston (ranked #1) has a cost index of 98 and rent of $1,670/mo, while Columbia (ranked #3) has a cost index of 85 and rent of $1,459/mo — a 13-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in North Charleston is $1,670/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $225 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in North Charleston is $307,981, which is 4.9× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
South Carolina has a 6.4% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.44%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.52%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.